–Clarifying That Remarks Were Made Thursday, Not Friday
BRUSSELS (MNI) – Ireland’s underlying fiscal position is stable and
the country should be seen as credible given its track record of
delivering on its commitments, Dara Calleary, a junior minister from the
Irish Treasury said on Thursday.
Ireland is battling to get its deficit back below the EU’s
3%-of-GDP limit by 2014. The budget shortfall is expected to be around
11% of GDP this year, the highest in the Eurozone. But that figure
excludes the once-off impact of the government’s bank bailout costs,
which it said today would be nearly E35 billion.
If that figure is counted, this year’s deficit will be a staggering
32% of GDP. And the bailout cost could even be higher than that — as
much as E40 billion — if there are unexpected new losses at Anglo-Irish
bank, the government said.
“We have achieved every commitment in the past two years,” Calleary
told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of EU finance ministers and
central bankers here.
Asked about the size of the deficit, he said “the underlying figure
is stable, in line with our forecasts.”
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said earlier
that the ECB had taken note of Ireland’s budget plans and that the
4-year plan was “key” to restoring the country’s credibility.
–Brussels: 0032 487 (0) 32 803 665, echarlton@marketnews.com
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